首个发现染色体易位致癌的女科学家获2009总统自由勋章

　　

生物通报道，最近16位在各自领域有突出贡献的人获得了美国2009年总统自由勋章，其中接受勋章的有两名科学家。

 

自由勋章是美国对普通人的最高奖励，今天获得该奖的科学家分别是：著名的物理学家斯蒂芬·霍金和芝加哥大学遗传学家Janet Davison Rowley。

 

Janet Davison Rowley因发现染色体易位诱发白血病而负有盛名。Janet Davison Rowley生于1925年，自上个世纪以来，一直致力于研究白血病和其他癌症的发病原因，1972年，她用新的染色体鉴定技术找出白血病的发病原因：染色体易位，成为首个发现人类癌症病因的科学家。她的这项发现改变了科学家们对癌症病因的看法。

 

Janet Davison Rowley在芝加哥大学任教，在癌症遗传学方面有建树，曾获得Lasker Award，National Medal of Science，Gruber Prize in Genetics多项大奖。发表研究性文章数百篇。

 

总统自由勋章简介

由美国总统一年一度颁发，与国会金质奖章并列为美国最高的平民荣誉。受奖者不需要是美国公民。

总统自由奖章原本在1945年由哈瑞·杜鲁门总统设立，表扬在二次大战期间对美国有贡献的人。约翰·肯尼迪总统在1963年恢复设立，并扩充得奖对象，对做出卓越贡献的人员进行奖励。

（生物通 小茜）

More Details

In 1972, using new techniques of chromosome identification, Janet Davison Rowley, M.D., discovered the first consistent chromosome translocation in any human cancer, the 8;21 translocation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In a landmark paper in 1973, Dr. Rowley described of the 9;22 translocation in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). At that time, the distinctive marker chromosome in CML, the Philadelphia chromosome, was thought to represent a deletion. Rowley showed that it was due to a balanced translocation. Subsequently, she identified more than a dozen different recurring translocations in children and adults with leukemia and lymphoma.

 

These discoveries changed the view of cancer researchers regarding the critical importance of recurring chromosome abnormalities in cancer cells and facilitated identification of novel cancer-causing genes at the breakpoint junctions. Her discoveries resulted in more accurate diagnostic techniques and development of effective treatment protocols targeted to particular patient subgroups. Rowley is internationally renowned for her studies of chromosome abnormalities in human leukemia and lymphoma, which have led to cures for previously untreatable cancers and the development of targeted therapies such as Imatinib (Gleevec) for CML.